


(The) Run Away

by Causemufins



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Lila Rossi Lies, Lila is ruining Marinette's life, Marinette has had ENOUGH, Other, Post-Episode: s03 Ladybug, grandpa fu
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-30
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2020-11-08 13:27:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20836214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Causemufins/pseuds/Causemufins
Summary: Everyone has betrayed her. Her supposed friends, her teachers, even her parents. They all believed Lila's lies. She doesn't have anyone left that she can trust. But Ladybug does. Ladybug has Tikki and Master Fu and Chat Noir. Marinette may not have a good life right now, but since she's also Ladybug, why not *just* be Ladybug for a while.Unfortunately, Lila sees this as a good opportunity to twist things in her favor





	1. Leave for a better life

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Missing](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17142218) by [ChaoticNeutral](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticNeutral/pseuds/ChaoticNeutral). 

Marinette was hurt. It wasn’t a physical hurt, but an emotional one. She was tired of how people were treating her. Lila was keeping true to her word and was talking not only her friends away, but now other people like her teachers and her family as well.

Alya still disregarded her feelings about Lila, how Lila was a liar and turning people against her. Alya said she would investigate on who framed Marinette, but the choice should have been obvious. If you ignored the fact that Marinette didn’t like Lila, Lila was the person who made the claim that Marinette stole the test answers, which only the one framing her would have known. But Alya insisted it had to be someone else.

Mlle Bustier knows that Marinette did well in that class, that it was her best class. She wouldn’t need to cheat on the test. When she got her test back, the scores were on par with her other tests in that class. But even then, she still had to take another test.

The principal didn’t care to make things fair. He went straight into the meeting even though Lila had supposedly fallen down the stairs instead of helping with her non-existent injuries, which would have revealed her lies. Plus, he only had Marinette’s parents there and not Lila’s. She doubted Lila’s parents knew about what Lila was doing so it would have kept Lila from continuing her lies. Though if they did, it would explain a lot. 

Her parents, even though they had raised her their whole lives still doubted her. The worst she had ever done was her tardiness and they expected all of this? Her mother stood up for her at first, but seeing a single lie she believed Lila. None of the lockers even had locks but it was enough to convince her mother anyway.

Adrien claimed he would stand up for her, but instead he stayed quiet, and even after all of this, he was siding with Lila. Lila finally getting Adrien for herself was likely the only reason she lied to let Marinette back into the school.

Then, the last offense, everyone immediately believed Lila about her illness. She supposedly didn’t mean anything she said, which was true, but it was in terms of an accident she couldn’t stop rather than trying to maliciously hurt Marinette. And even if she hadn’t meant those lies, how had the test answers gotten in Marinette’s bag? How had Lila ended up at the bottom of the stairs? How had the necklace shown up in her locker? No one cared about the answers to the questions, they just accepted what Lila said.

Marinette couldn’t take it. There was no one left she felt she could trust. Everyone had just left her behind and punished for something Lila had done. If no one was going to trust her or stand by her, then why should she both being around anymore.

Her thoughts were cut short as Tikki alerted her of an akuma. It was the second one that night and at least seven in the past two days, but she hadn’t been counting. Tikki had been doing her best to keep Marinette from being akumatized, but with how toxic the environment around Marinette was, it was only a matter of time before she was actually akumatized. At this point, it was safest if she gave the ladybug miraculous back to Master Fu.

Marinette froze. Master Fu. He had entrusted her to be the next guardian, so he must trust her. And Chat Noir. Their work relationship was rocky, but that was better than most everyone else she knew. Marinette may not have anyone to trust, but Ladybug. Ladybug was the person who people trusted. Ladybug was the person people believed. Ladybug was Marinette’s escape from everything.

Tikki cheered up slightly when she saw Marinette suddenly looked happy again, but frowned once more when she read the note Marinette was writing. She tried to dissuade Marinette, but the designer had made up her mind. She right now, she didn’t care if her parents were upset by this, she didn’t care if it made her friends angry, she didn’t care that Lila could twist her sudden disappearance. Marinette had spent so much of her life thinking of others first, she deserved to be selfish once and a while, especially after all this. She told herself that if her parents truly trusted her, they would understand. If her friends truly trusted her, they would be worried but finally open their eyes. If Adrien were truly on her side, he would speak up.

Marinette looked at her clock. It was almost three in the morning. Her parents would definitely be asleep. She snuck down to the bakery and put the note on the counter. She knew her parents would look there before opening the bakery in the morning. The designer looked it over one last time before packing a bag. She added her phone and charger just to be safe, a large amount of cookies for Tikki, a sketchbook and some pencils, and some food just in case she couldn’t find Master Fu.

She snuck back upstairs, where Tikki tried to stop her one last time, but Marinette still wouldn’t listen. Instead, she transformed into Ladybug, went out onto her balcony, and took off onto the rooftops. Unfortunately, she didn’t notice a figure moving towards her home.

On the streets, Lila was walking by. She was upset she couldn’t get rid of Marinette completely after what happened with Adrien, but she had one last trick up her sleeve. She had learned how to lock pick back at her old school, and since she knew where Marinette lived, it would be easy to get in.

Lila was extra careful with the lock just in case there were any alarms, which was more likely since it was also a business. Luckily for her, she got in with no problem. She was just going to plant something inside, frame Marinette for it and punish her for good, but the liar was distracted by something different that was out of place in the bakery. On the counter was a note signed by Marinette.

_Dear Maman and Papa. I know you’re going to be upset about me disappearing but I’ll be fine. I don’t feel safe at school knowing no one trusts or believes me and I can’t stay here knowing you don’t believe me either. There is someone I still trust so I will be with them until I am feeling better and more confident. I have my phone so I can call you in emergencies and you can contact me. I love you. Marinette._

This was too perfect. Marinette had run away and was finally out of the picture, but if someone saw this note, they might take this seriously. It was unlikely, but better to be safe than sorry. Lila picked the note up and crumpled it up before stuffing it in her pocket. She thought about leaving a fake note, but that would involve staying longer which she didn’t want to risk. Instead, she left, locking the door behind her then throwing the letter away. It would be easy enough to twist things now. After all, of course Marinette was overreacting. She hates Lila so much she’s just running away for attention and pity so people with side with her and start hating Lila too.

This was going to be easy, and all because Marinette had finally given in. The class and Adrien were finally hers.


	2. She's never *this* late

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's morning at school and Marinette is much later than normal, so people notice.

“Man, where is she? This is late even for her.” Alya leaned forward in her seat, whispering to Adrien and Nino. “Is she sick or something?”

In front of Alya, Nino shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. She might be. Have you gotten any texts from her or texted her yourself?”

Alya shook her head. “Haven’t gotten anything from her, but you’re right, maybe I can find out if I text her.” With that the reporter snuck her phone out of her bag and into her lap. She kept an eye on Mlle Bustier as she typed out her message, then looked at her phone to correct any typos while their teacher was focused on the board she was writing on.  _ ‘Girl this is late even for you! Are you sick or what?’ _

Alya tried her best to watch the phone while also doing her best not to be caught looking at it. Unfortunately no answer came. The message wasn’t even left on read, which wasn’t too unheard of, but that normally only happened when there were akumas, which was mostly fine since normally Marinette was worried about getting away from the action more than checking her phone. 

But there wasn’t an akuma now. Or was there? Making sure Bustier wasn’t looking, she flipped to the akuma news app. Most of Paris had it to know when there was danger or so they could report if there was any themselves. Unfortunately there was nothing. The most recent attack was still from yesterday because of an akuma named Primadonna. They had hypnotized a large number of people to basically worship them, Alya being one of them.

Thinking back on that fight, when Alya finally saw Marinette again after it, she seemed upset. Well, she had been upset for a few days, but it had looked worse. Plus she had talked to Adrien without a single stutter, though it was only a sentence at most. Adrien and Marinette may not have noticed it, but Alya certainly did, which had concerned her. Maybe Marinette had been like that because she was coming down with something, but it hadn’t seemed like it.

Nino shook Alya’s shoulder. Apparently while she was lost in her thoughts, class had ended for lunch. “So, get any response from Marinette?”

Alya shook her head, then showed Nino her phone. “No, she hasn’t even left me on read, which normally doesn’t happen unless there’s an akuma, and I checked already. Since her house is so close I’m going to head over there to check on her or find something out from her parents. I’ll see if I can bring a few treats back from the bakery.”

Nino nodded and went over to tell Adrien before he left for home. Alya left the school and went straight to the bakery. She almost immediately opened to door on instinct, but a sign on the door made her pause. It said the bakery was closed. That only happened when something serious happened.

Looking into the shop, Alya could see Sabine inside. Her back was towards the door, so waving wouldn’t get her attention. Instead, Alya knocked on the door, but Sabine either didn’t notice or ignored it because she didn’t turn. Alya kept knocking on the door anyway, harder this time until finally Sabine turned. 

Alya was surprised at first because it looked like Sabine had been crying. It did help explain why the bakery was closed and possibly why Marinette was missing. Maybe someone in their family had passed away, or Marinette was seriously sick and in the hospital. Or maybe it was her dad. But if it were either of those, Sabine likely wouldn’t be there.

“Hello Mme Cheng. I noticed Marinette wasn’t at school, and she wasn’t answering my texts. Do you know why?”

Alya didn’t like the expression that appeared on Sabine’s face from the question. “Marinette is missing. I went to wake her up this morning because it was getting so late. I wondered if she had slipped by when Tom and I weren’t paying attention, so we thought it would be fine until the school called us asking why Marinette hadn’t shown up.”

Alya was shocked. Marinette was missing? “Do you think she ran away or what?”

“I think she would leave a note or something if she were to run away. I know how much she cares for everyone, so she might have left us one to try and reassure us. Unfortunately I’ve looked all over and haven’t seen any. Still, she had been here last night. I remember her going upstairs after eating supper.”

“That’s really strange.” Alya commented as she thought about it all. “You’re right, Marinette is the kind of person who would leave a note, but she has been changing ever since Lila showed up.”

“Lila is the one who accidentally claimed my daughter had cheated, pushed her and stole her necklace, yes?”

Alya nodded. “Right. Even after we found out about Lila’s illness, she’s been treating Lila badly. Honestly her jealousy is getting out of hand.” Sabine was confused by Alya’s comment and asked her to clarify. “Well Lila seems to really like Adrien and the two of them are together a lot, especially with Lila modeling with Adrien. But I think Marinette is jealous that Lila and Adrien are close since she has her crush on Adrien.”

Sabine looked skeptical. “Marinette is not usually one to be jealous. And when she is, it’s not for long. Have you thought about if Marinette might dislike Lila for some other reason?”

“The only reason she’s mentioned is Lila is a liar, but Marinette doesn’t have any proof that Lila is lying. Well, other than now we know about Lila’s medical condition. But she’s still on Lila’s case for no reason.”

Sabine looked concerned even after the reply and was silent for a moment. Alya almost said goodbye there, but Sabine finally spoke again. “I still can’t see her doing that. Maybe after you are done at school you can explain more to me, but if that’s all there is to it, there must actually be more to the story. Can you please find out more? At least for my own peace of mind?”

Alya nodded. She was a reporter. If Sabine wanted information, she was the one who could find it. After she agreed, Alya gave the baker a hug, was handed a bag of croissants, and headed back to school. The first thing she saw upon returning were some of the students around a crying Lila. Alya immediately ran over to see what the problem was. “What’s going on?”

Alix was the first to speak up in a huff. “Lila was being threatened by Marinette. Apparently it’s been going on for a while. Marinette was apparently upset that we weren’t siding with her in bullying Lila so she ran away for sympathy. She thought we would be sad for her and join her then start hating Lila when she came back.”

Alya was stunned at this. “How do you know all that?”

“Marinette had texted Lila and Lila showed us the texts. Apparently it’s been going on for a while.” Alix handed Alya Lila’s phone to look through and the texts displayed on the phone were shocking. The most recent one had been sent a few minutes ago. ‘_They’ll feel bad that I ran away. They’ll come looking for me and love me again. Then I can make them hate you just as much._’

Alya couldn’t believe Marinette would ever do something like this, but the proof was right there. Scrolling up were other messages which were just as bad. It seemed like this had been going on ever since Lila returned to school after her trip. Alya immediately pulled out her phone and texted Marinette. ‘Girl, what the hell is wrong with you? You’ve been threatening and bullying Lila? This is too far, even for you.”

When she found Nino again, he asked what Alya found out. She told Nino Marinette was missing, which seemed to make Nino more upset. “When Lila said Marinette was bullying her, I didn’t want to believe it, but if she said Marinette had run away before you had found out that was the case, then maybe it is true.”

“I know, I didn’t want to believe it at first either, but I guess it’s just the truth.”


	3. A Meeting with Fu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette meets with Fu, and so does Tikki with worrying news.

“Please wake up Marinette.”

The words made their way into her dream. Marinette wanted to keep sleeping but the words pulled her out. She might be late for class, or there might be an akuma. Reluctantly, she opened her eyes and sat up then looked at the room that was definitely not her bedroom or even a room in her house. She panicked for a few moments before her eyes met with Master Fu.

“It is nice to see you finally awake Marinette,” The only man commented before handing her a sandwich. “You slept through breakfast and it is just past your usual time for lunch.”

Marinette looked at the sandwich and her stomach grumbled. She quickly took the sandwich and stuffed it in her mouth and thanked Fu before she could swallow. “Ank oo astuh.” 

Fu nodded and waited for Marinette to finish eating before speaking again. “While you were sleeping, Tikki gave me some details, but I wish to hear the whole story from you.”

Marinette looked reluctant to share at first, but then she remembered that she came to Fu because he would trust her. If anyone would believe her about everything, it would be him. “There’s someone in my class. She’s a liar who was telling all these amazing stories about people she’s close with and she said she was best friends with Ladybug, but since that’s me and I didn’t know her, it was a lie. I tried telling my friends but they brushed me off as being jealous.

“Even after all this time, no one believes me. Plus the girl threatened she would take all my friends away from me. I wasn’t so sure at first but I guess she has now. She even turned some of the people I have chosen for miraculouses, namely Rena, Carapace and Pegasus. Still, I tried to ignore that and keep trying to stop her, but recently I was temporarily akumatized because of her. I mean, Chloé bullied me for months and I was only nearly akumatized once. This girl did that and nearly did another time in just one month!”

Fu looked at Marinette with concern. “This sounds serious indeed. But if it is just your class-”

He was cut off. “No, my teachers and parents believed her too. I realized I had no one left to trust as Marinette, but as Ladybug I have you and Tikki and Chat.”

Fu reluctantly kept quiet at her mention of Chat. He knew he was really Adrien, and the two were in the same class. He would have been included in the group of people she could not trust. “It is unfortunate to hear this. I will allow you to stay until things improve.”

Marinette couldn’t help but hug Fu. “Thank you master! We could even work on guardian training while I stay here. But speaking of which… where is here? I was so out of it last night, I don’t quite remember getting here. I mean, I know I used my lucky charm to find you. But otherwise…”

“That is actually a good sign. Using the grimoire, I was able to put protection on this place to keep anyone from finding it. It may be difficult to help you circumvent the protective spell, but I am sure it can be done.”

“Master,” Tikki spoke up. “Possibly we can have her meet with the other kwamis and learn what they represent.”

Fu seemed like he was about to reject this suggestion to let Marinette rest more, but then he saw the pleading look in the kwami’s eyes and relented. “Very well.” He then pulled out the box and handed it to Marinette. “Go into the next room. It is better if you learn of them on your own.”

Marinette gave a determined nod and walked away, leaving Master Fu with Tikki. “I believe you know of Chat Noir’s identity?”

“Yes. When fighting one akuma, the two of them needed to transform back but didn’t have anywhere to hide. Instead, they stood nearby with their eyes closed. Since they were in the same class, we recognized each other’s chosen.”

“I see. And he does not trust Marinette as well?”

Tikki hesitated, looking off to the side for a moment. “Well, he knows of the girl’s lying, but refuses to stop her. He believes it is best to keep the peace so she is not akumatized once again.”

“A second time would not be ideal, no. But it is nothing they haven’t handled, even when they have been at a disadvantage with traded miraculouses.”

The look on Tikki’s face did not reassure Fu. “I talked with Plagg recently. We met just after the near akumatization. Apparently this girl has become akumatized twenty or so times with how much energy he could sense. I disagreed because there’s no way we wouldn’t notice that many when we’ve only seen two and signs of two others.”

That worried Fu. “The only way that amount of energy would be left over after so few times is if she were trying to keep it. But since Hawkmoth is known as a threat, that would mean she is working for him willingly.”

Tikki still looked concerned. “Master, there’s something more you should know. Plagg has been checking the energy of everyone he can.”

“Has he finally learned of Hawkmoth’s identity?”

The kwami unfortunately shook her head. “No, either he has hidden well or his intentions for the miraculous are protecting him. The problem is there is another person with the energy we would expect other than this girl, and that is someone else close to Plagg’s chosen. Not his father or his driver.”

“The assistant. I remember seeing recently enough from afar. She seemed to be dangerously ill. That could be side effects from the dark energy within her.”

“She has less than the girl.”

Fu looked up in a panic. “No, that is only supposed to be a legend!”

“I’m sorry master. But it is true. It has happened twice before to those not wielding the cat miraculous.”

Fu looked off into space, worried but planning. “It will be risky, but I must meet with Chat Noir. Imbalanced or not, should this become any worse, we could all be in grave danger.”

“Fluff! No! We need to stay in-” Marinette tripped and fell to the ground after trying to catch Fluff. Fu and Tikki looked and each other and nodded, mentally agreeing to continue this conversation at a later date. Then Master Fu helped Marinette off the ground. “My apologies Marinette. I should have warned you about certain kwamis.”

Marinette brushed herself off and shook her head. “It’s fine Master. You weren’t given the same opportunities. It’s only fair I wasn’t warned.”

“Well, how about we take a break for now. I will put the box back and we can see what we can do about integrating you into the protection spell.”

“Alright Master!”


	4. Informing Chat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fu knows that Adrien has been causing some problems. And they're finally being addressed.

Chat was out on the rooftops. He hoped he would see Ladybug this ‘patrol’. Well, he knew it wasn’t guaranteed. When he had first suggested them having a patrol, Ladybug wasn’t so sure, mentioning how she sometimes barely had time for superheroing when there was an akuma. Chat almost claimed the same, but he realized that since his father and his assistant often left him alone for hours at a time, he could usually get away easily. Being Chat was what made his schedule packed, without he would likely be fine.

But then he mentioned his civilian life carefully. Just that he didn’t really have anyone in his civilian life and he felt trapped all the time. That being Chat was his escape. Ladybug hesitated before agreeing. If anyone asked, it was a patrol to try and find Hawkmoth, and while they did do that, really it was more of a way for them to relax and de-stress.

Chat looked around at the view before his eyes lit up at the movement of red and black. He quickly stood up, ready to greet her, but never got the chance. “Chat, there is something important I need you for.”

“Oh is that so m’lady?”

He didn’t get a response as Ladybug grabbed his arm and swung off in the direction she came from in the first place. She led them to an unmarked business building with a sold sign in the window. Ladybug finally let go of him and he was able to look the place over. “Did you buy us a place for a meeting area? The tower is a purr-fect place already.”

“No, the guardian needed us to meet. He said it was extremely important. Apparently your kwami knows?”

Chat shook his head. “I don’t think so. Or if he does, he never told me.”

“Well, I guess we’ll find out now.” Ladybug replied with a shrug before they went it, nearly running into a room divider.

“Ah, Ladybug, you have returned. And you managed to find Chat Noir.”

“What’s with the screen?” Chat quickly asked.

“I will need you two to detransform as your kwamis are needed for this discussion. It is there to keep your identities secret from one another.”

The two heroes nodded before going to opposite sides of the screen and detransforming. Their kwamis immediately flew towards each other and hugged one another. “Looks like you’ve got a soft spot, huh Plagg?” Adrien teased.

“She’s basically my other half, of course I like her kid. But I’m only this way to her.”

Tikki seemed to give Plagg a disbelieving look, but Adrien didn’t notice as Fu cleared his throat. “Apparently Tikki learned from Plagg that there is someone who has been gaining large amounts of dark energy. Likely harnessing it from the akumas.Your kwamis are unable to share her name with me similar to how they are unable to share your names. From what I can tell, she is unaware as to what she is doing, but if she were to learn. It could be worse than facing Hawkmoth.”

Both Marinette and Adrien were concerned by this news. They couldn’t imagine someone being worse than Hawkmoth. “What do we do Master?” Adrien inquired.

“Unfortunately, there is nothing much that can be done without revealing your identities as acting to stop the person in question at this time would do so. Instead, it is imperative that you two work closer together and create a better balance.”

“I’d say we’re already a pretty great team already.” Adrien boasted, but he received a stern look from Fu.

“Unfortunately, you are incorrect. Balance can work in two ways. Either there are two opposites that neutralize each other into a middle ground similar to the powers of creation and destruction. That way is one you two are already familiar with. The other way is a pull and push. There are duties that both of you must fulfill. Causing one to take on too many of these duties or not equally completing them can cause imbalance which is what is happening between you two.”

Marinette was shocked. “Wait, really? How so?”

“Ladybug, you end up taking on too many responsibilities. And some of that is my fault due to your new training, but in terms of hero duties, that falls on Chat Noir.”

Adrien was offended. “Me? What did I do?”

“Ladybug is the one who is set to be the leader so most of the responsibility is put onto her. You should be expected to take on that responsibility at times, but you do not. Does he Plagg?”

Plagg refused to look at Fu, but did respond. “Master, he has plenty of things already restricting his life. Yeah, I’ve been lenient, but come on. It’s not that bad, right?”

“Plagg, Ladybug has just as many responsibilities in her life. And recently, she was briefly akumatized and is now no longer safe in her civilian life.”

Plagg had originally been about to make a joke about saying a word so many times it didn’t sound like a word anymore. But the fact that Fu had just stated shook the kwami to his core. “No. But he didn’t get the chance to find out she was Ladybug, right? It was only for a few seconds at most!”

“Multiple of the heroes Ladybug have chosen have betrayed her and she no longer feels safe with her family. Because of such, she is staying here for the time being.”

Plagg just stared at Fu for a few minutes before finally nodding. “I’ll talk with the kid when we get back home.”

Fu nodded back in response before turning to Adrien. The blond almost got out his question about Ladybug nearly being akumatized but Fu held a hand up. “Ladybug. I would like to speak with Chat privately. If you could transform back so Chat will not accidently see you as you leave.”

Marinette nodded then transformed before leaving, allowing Fu to speak with Adrien and Plagg. “What do you mean Ladybug was almost akumatized?!”

“Kid calm down. You don’t want to actually be akumatized.”

“Fine.” Adrien reluctantly agreed, taking calming breaths.

“Look, the girl who we’re worried about got to Ladybug and got her akumatized. If it weren’t for a fluke on Hawkmoth’s part, she would have just handed her miraculous then and there. From what I know, this girl has gotten her nearly akumatized more than once in the span of a couple of months. And before that, she only nearly was akumatized once by someone who was terrorizing her from the beginning before she was Ladybug. And that was because there was another person helping to cause the problem.”

“Part of it could be due to the stress brought on by her life which has only grown over time.” Fu commented. “As you two have grown as people, she has advanced further than you.”

“Yeah kid, Remember when you two switched and you had Tikki? Yeah Ladybug had a quick slip up, but she still had to take charge.” Plagg tried reasoning with Adrien. “You’re doing too much push and not enough pull.”

Adrien looked back and forth between Fu and Plagg, but even with their talks, Adrien still couldn’t believe it. “Look, Ladybug is the hero people look up to. I’m not that important. Besides, she has the power to undo everything. She’s supposed to take charge.”

Plagg facepalmed. “Alright, gonna take a chance here kid. The problem person. You know, dark energy, bigger threat than Hawkmoth, got Ladybug akumatized person?”

“Yeah Plagg, we were just talking about it.”

“You know her and have just let her walk over people.”

“Wait really?” Adrien asked, surprised.

Plagg nodded. “Yes. And because you have let her do whatever the heck she wants, she has gotten Ladybug almost akumatized.”

That made Adrien pale. “So… In a way, I’m the reason Ladybug was almost akumatized?”

There was a sigh from the kwami. “In a way, kinda. I mean the way they’re acting is part of it, but you’re enabling them by not stopping them when you could.”

Adrien frowned. He had been taught that people who did bad things would end up punished on their own. It always happened to those that attacked their company. Then with any rumors, it wasn’t long before people learned the truth. But he guessed this was different. While with akumatizations, it could easily be fixed, Ladybug getting akumatized was more permanent.

“Adrien.” Fu’s voice pulled the blond out of his thoughts. “I know of your home life and how your father and his business affect you, but outside from your work and what he determines, things are different outside of those barriers. Much like when you are Chat Noir if that helps. Instead of ignoring the problem you are facing as Adrien, as Chat Noir, the problems you face must be dealt with so consequences are lessened.”

Adrien nodded. “So, this one girl in my class who keeps lying? It doesn’t seem like she’s causing many problems, but a friend of mine says it’s bad. That’s something I should help to stop?”

“Yeah kid. That’s exactly what he means.” Plagg spoke up, glad this time he could get his chosen to listen. “ I mean, with those tabloids you read, there’s thousands of them. If they lose credibility, they become something else. She doesn’t have that luxury.

“I mean, think of it like this. Around everyone else, she acts so innocent and kind. When you tell her off for lying to you, she acts mean and angry. And that’s when you aren’t talking about her lies. She’s probably worse to someone like your friend tries to stop her. Plus then there’s Chloé. She’s been bullying others for years, but because she’s your friend, you ignore it all. Yeah maybe she’s gotten better, but think about how many people have been akumatized because of her.”

Adrien just stared sadly at his kwami. Having it all said was different than experiencing it all. He wanted to say something, but what could he? He might accidentally do it again, and he can’t take back what he had already done. And he had been told in a roundabout way what to do. So what could he do right now?

“Look, just start improving yourself in general.” Plagg seemed to read his mind. “Start with the problem ones and go from there. Maybe eventually you can even stand up to your father.”

The blond nodded before transforming and bidding Fu goodbye. The old man asked for him to meet with Ladybug tomorrow night at the Eiffel Tower for whatever reason, to which Adrien agreed before leaving the building.


	5. Catching up with it all

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette's phone is finally charged, so time to read some messages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> reminder that when you look at messages on your home screen, the most recent one shows first, so they're shown backwards from how they were sent.  
have fun figuring out which contact is who.

Marinette finally had her phone charged up enough for it to turn it on. She was worried to see if she had missed calls or texts from her parents. There would likely also be some messages from her former friends too. Thinking of that, she almost didn’t open her phone, but, taking a deep breath, she pressed the power button.

‘Marinette, your actions have really been hurting the class. If you really did run away, it’s just making this worse for everyone else.’

Marinette blinked, not really comprehending what it said right away. Then it clicked. It was one of her ‘friends’ blaming her for things again. She was about to clear it before she looked at the sender. It was Adrien’s name. The designer felt her heart drop. Adrien had said they would be in this together, and even though it obviously wasn’t the case since he had done nothing to help, she thought he would at least believe that they were at least on the same side.

The phone screen became blurry as too many tears messed with her vision. She felt something touch her shoulder which she was able to recognize as Tikki, making her start sobbing in ernest knowing if an akuma showed up, the kwami would snap her out of it.

Suddenly, Marinette tried to stifle her crying, hearing movement to her side. She wanted to shoo Tikki away so she wouldn’t be seen when she remembered it was just Fu. “Tikki, it seems whatever is present on her phone is causing more grief. Can you help give it to me instead?”

The kwami on Marinette’s shoulder moved away. She then felt a tugging on her phone which she didn’t resist. She heard a thank you before Fu moved away, taking the phone elsewhere. Tikki flew back over and grabbed one of Marinette’s fingers, trying to pull her arm. But this time she resisted, worrying if Master Fu would be upset at her losing her composure that easily.

Tikki’s voice made it to her ears, but she had to repeat what she was saying multiple times before Marinette comprehended it. The kwami wanted her to lie down. Marinette shook her head. If an akuma came for her it was easier to get away if she was at least sitting. Still, Tikki kept insisting, and reluctantly the designer shifted to lay on the floor. The floor wasn’t the most comfortable place, but slowly a blanket was dragged over Marinette, making it just a little more comfortable than before.

~~~~~~~~~

Fu frowned when he heard the small sobs coming from Marinette. He had seen the girl reach for her phone, so it was obvious that there was a message there that had upset her once more. When he turned towards the Ladybug chosen, Tikki was already there. Sure enough, Marinette was crying while looking at her phone.

He asked Tikki to give Marinette’s phone to him. It would at least take away the source of the grief, and if he happened to accidentally see some of the messages, well they would only help him understand more and be able to guide the girl better.

Once Fu had gone into another room, he turned on the phone and dared to look at the messages. It was a little confusing since the messages were all backwards to show the most recent one sent, but the contents in each message alone helped him paint a better picture in his mind of what was occuring to Marinette. She seemed to have names assigned to all of them, so he had no idea who was sending what messages. The old man wonders for a moment if he should ask who each of them are, but decides against it so Marinette won’t be hurt much more if she feels the invasion of privacy is a breaking point right now.

♡♡♡: Marinette, your actions have really been hurting the class. If you really did run away, it’s just making this worse for everyone else.

Best Friend: Put your jealousy aside and come back girl.

Movie Magic: I hope that this is just a rumor that Alya heard.

妈妈:  Marinette, we have been told you were bullying the girl who said you stole from her. I didn’t think I taught you to be like that.

+33-XXX-5555-24: There is only a 1.2% chance you would attempt to run for sympathy. I am attempting to convey to Max that there is insufficient data for the current outcome.

Movie Magic: Come on Nette this isn't funny anymore. Please respond

Chloe: I’ve asked Sabrina to tell her dad you’re missing. This is just me paying back for Saturday without any money so don’t thank me.

♡♡♡: Alya is saying your parents don’t even know where you are and there’s no akuma. Marinette you know what Bustier says

Movie Magic: *silence

Movie Magic: Nette, your silntce isn’t convincing me

Best Friend: I’m going to be meeting with your mom. You better answer me marinette

Bfam: Listen Mari, we know your plot and ur not gonna get extra sympathy with this BS if you running away.

♡♡♡: Lila’s starting to spread a lie that you ran away because of her. I’m going to try and stop her because I know you wouldn’t do that.

Movie Magic: Hey Alya mentioned you were bullying Lila and ran away to get sympathy from us. Tell me it isn’t true Nette

Best Friend: Girl, what the hell is wrong with you? You’ve been threatening and bullying Lila? This is too far, even for you.

Sk8r: Lilas showing us ur texts. ur such a bitch.

Movie Magic: Dude call if you can.

Best Friend: Marinette your mom said you’ve gone missing! You’ve said before you stay up late. I’m hoping you didn’t go out and get hurt or even kidnapped.

🌹: Alya says you’re missing. What happened?

+33-XXX-5555-57: Oh, running away are you? It just means I’m going to win.

Best Friend: Where are you? Girl this is late even for you!

妈妈 : Marinette you aren’t home or at school, where are you?

Fu looked at the messages sadly. If this was not even from a full day, what had Marinette gone through? He knew Marinette would eventually need to see the messages and he was unaware of how to unlock her phone, so all the old man did was delete the notifications themselves. Now she wouldn’t be bombarded by them all. 

He poked his head into the other room to find Tikki slowly convincing Marinette to lie down. Fu carefully put Marinette’s phone with the rest of her things before bringing over a blanket. Tikki smiled at him before taking the blanket and slowly pulling it over her chosen. “She is strong. Much stronger than me.” Fu spoke to the kwami. “Though it is not the best reason, I am still glad there is the chance she can stay here much longer.”

“She doesn’t need any more stress from learning to be a guardian.” Tikki crossed her arms, surprised when Fu nodded.

“I shouldn’t even be teaching her in the first place. She has chosen the heroes, and at such a young age, even if they were not all perfect fits, she still managed to find good people at the time.”

“But many of those people betrayed her.” Tikki just became angrier.

“I know, I know. Choosing those who will wield the miraculouses is not an easy task. I obviously did not choose particularly well with the cat. But they still were able to use the miraculous well, meaning that Marinette is at least able to see those who fit the miraculous best.”

“I suppose that’s true.” The kwami reluctantly conceded.

“She also helped during the fight against Syren, being able to complete the potions with me. Marinette also is strong enough to wield many miraculouses at once without too much damage.”

“So what, are you saying that because of all this, she should already be a guardian?” Tikki questioned the old man.

“No. I am saying that the methods I was taught under should not still be practiced today. It is like the restaurants I have seen over time. Those that have kept their menus the same for so long end up going downhill while the ones that change thrive. One may prefer the old menu and recipes, but not everyone does.”

“So, what you’re saying is?”

“What I am saying is being the last of the guardians, all I did was do what they have done. And what they did led me to destroy the temple. I am not saying they are fully to blame, but it shows that the teachings I have followed must change. And as of right now, Marinette is the one who will know best what that entails."


	6. Something feels... "Iffy"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lila's taking full advantage of Marinette's disappearing act and is perfectly fine with twisting it in her favor even more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha that virus, am I right?  
Plus school has been hitting hard because they chopped a month off the time we normally would have in a semester and I've only had enough time to breathe and make this chapter because my computer broke and it's in the shop so I couldn't do really any other work.  
but hey, at least if finished writing this chapter.
> 
> there may be more typos in the second and third parts of this story since most of them were done on the new computer and it loves to autocorrect words I don't want it to and add extra spaces everywhere.

Lila arrived at the school early the next morning. Her mom had the day off so it was better to say she was meeting friends instead of hanging around the house and being dragged into conversations that she didn’t care about. Unfortunately it also meant that hardly anyone would be around at the school for her to get the attention of. 

That upset her for the first few minutes of her walk, but then she remembered the previous day. Marinette was finally gone. She ran off and everyone thought it was just to make Lila look bad. Instead it had come out the other way around.

Lila looked over her current french style manicure. She had extra nail polish in her bag and with so much spare time before school, she could easily have any chips covered up. And of course she always kept her makeup on hand to create any fake injuries. Unfortunately, bruises and blemishes were easier than scratched. Because of that, she grit her teeth slightly before clawing her arm to break the skin a bit.

She was glad to see no chipping occurred, but she did have to clean up some discoloration from the small bit of blood her self-injury drew. Still, Lila pulled out her makeup kit and cleaned up what little blood there was on her arm before covering the area. Following that she pulled out a strip of cotton and some liquid latex. 

Lila painted some of the latex over the cut and one other heavily damaged area. She then tore a small amount of the cotton off the strip and split that in half before adding them to the wet latex and adding more of the liquid latex on top. She messed with the cotton with a toothpick so it wasn’t as smooth and let the mixture. 

As Lila let it dry, she pulled a small pocket side paint set out of her makeup kit. She opened a small bottle that normally would be filled with water and squirted some onto her brush. Lila then dabbed her brush into her red and brown paints and added color to her fake wounds.

With that, the liar put away all her makeup supplies and sat, waiting for the makeup to fully dry. Looking around she noticed Rose and Juleka walking to school from afar. The blonde looked upset which made Lila smile. She likely couldn’t believe that Marinette could really do this, but somehow it’s true. Juleka was more closed off, so it was hard to read any body language from before.

The liar smiled as she saw some movement approaching the pair of girls which she recognised as an akuma. Maybe it wasn’t for her, but Lila was glad her actions were helping Hawkmoth and making Ladybug’s life harder. 

The butterfly drew closer and closer to Rose, but just before it could affect her, Juleka gave the blonde a hug and the butterfly paused before leaving. Lila grumbled and nearly got up to walk over and talk with Rose before remembering her ‘injury’ was still drying. She gave a sigh and slouched where she was sitting in annoyance before a familiar voice spoke up.

‘Lila Rossi.’

“Hello Hawkmoth.” Lila sat back up with a smile, looking around to make sure Juleka and Rose had left as well as there being no one else to witness their conversation. “I saw you attempt to akumatize Rose a few moments ago.

‘The one concerned for her missing friend. That wouldn’t happen to be because of you, now would it?’

“She ran away because apparently not even her parents will believe her. She was going to leave a note behind, but I found it first. And that means I can twist it in my favor and upset people. Though I’m surprised, She’s probably been gone for a full day now and I don’t think you’ve akumatized her yet.”

‘The akumas search for people who feel they have no option to escape the hurt they are in. The missing girl, Marinette, always seems to pull herself out of any negative emotions that afflict her. It has made it impossible to akumatize her as of yet, but I believe once she finally breaks, she may be just what I need to finally defeat Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Lila tried her best not to let her emotions send through to Hawkmoth. The one person she hated as much as Ladybug was someone Hawkmoth wanted for help? Did he really think Marinette was better than her? “I don’t know. That much control over her emotions could make things problematic. I don’t mean to doubt your power, but what if she were able to resist your control? She’s such a goody two-shoes that if she were given powers from you but also escaped your control, well Marinette might be the reason the heroes finally stop you.”

Lila was met by a few moments of silence before the villain spoke once more. ‘Yes, that is partially why I want to be Scarlet Moth when she is finally akumatized. However, if I were to have the opportunity to akumatize the girl on her own, with help from you and Mayura, she could be kept in check.’

Lila smiled again, glad that she would still be who Hawkmoth would be turning to to deal with Marinette. Plus she was an asset with her being one of the few people that Hawkmoth could use a second akuma with. It was always possible to create more at once, but controlling more than one at a time? Well that’s when he needed to be Scarlet Moth.

“Now, is there anything else you wanted Hawkmoth? While I would love to make things harder for Ladybug right now, I’m afraid I’ve already got plans to make my class more vulnerable.”

‘I see. That was my original plan, but I suppose it is easy enough to use Mr. Ramier once more.’

As the butterfly flew away from Lila, she rolled her eyes. The pigeon man was a horrible choice, but at the very least he inconvenienced the heroes when they likely had places to be, such as Lila did right now. With her makeup dry, she got up from her seat and began to walk towards the school, quickening her pace when she saw a familiar limo going toward the same destination.

* * *

  
  


Adrien had barely taken a step out of the door of the limo the Gorilla had driven him in when Lila arrived and latched onto the model’s arm. Adrien sighed and bid his bodyguard goodbye before turning to look at the liar beside him. “Lila.” Was all he greeted her with, thinking back to last night’s conversation with Master Fu.

“Hi Adrien!” She replied in a fake cheerful tone Adrien knew all too well. “I’m hoping Marinette doesn’t come back today after realizing her idea didn’t work.”

Adrien held his tongue at the statement. There was a good chance it was just more of Lila’s lies. If they were alone he could pull her to act like her normal rude self, but since they were walking into the school, there was no chance of that.

“I’m scared if she does show up, she might- oh never mind, I shouldn’t talk about that.” Lila started speaking, but turned the second half of her sentence into a stage whisper, catching the attention of their classmates. Among those to hear were Alya, Nathaniel and Kim, who made a beeline towards Lila.

“Are you talking about Marinette?” Kim asked first even though the expression on his face showed he likely thought he knew the answer.

“No, I shouldn’t be talking about that.” Lila replied, clinging tighter to Adrien’s arm and making him wince. At the very least they were going to be modelling more long sleeved outfits this afternoon.

“Marinette’s not here Lila.” Alya spoke up, radiating confidence that Adrien wished was for his pigtailed friend and not Lila. “You can tell us anything you want to.”

He watched as Lila feigned hesitance before pulling the sleeve of her jacket up. From where Adrien stood, he couldn’t see whatever Lila was showing off, but based on the expressions on his friends’ faces, it likely wasn’t good.

“D-did Marinette really do that?” Nathaniel quietly asked, earning a false nod out of Lila. 

Adrien pulled away from Lila slightly which he could feel her resist to until she could tell it wasn’t to escape. Now he was able to see what Lila was showing off and his stomach dropped slightly. There was a bad wound there that looked like Lila had been clawed worse than what she did to him. Adrien knew that couldn’t have been Marinette’s doing, she was too sweet. Plus she did all her own designing and sewing and she kept her nails short because of that. They couldn’t have done this kind of damage.

But even then, even with all these things he knew telling him that it couldn’t have been Marinette and that the injury couldn’t be real, there was something else. There was something in his mind telling him it was real. He was around makeup all the time. He had looked into special effects makeup a few times when stuck alone in his room. This didn’t look fake, it looked real. And it didn’t make sense to him.

* * *

  
  


And it didn’t make sense to her. Even with all these things she knew telling her that it had to have been Marinette and that the injury had to be real, there was something else.

When Lila had been speaking to Adrien, Alya couldn’t help but listen in. When it seemed like the girl was scared to speak up about something, she jumped up to help her friend. Kim and Nathaniel had also been close enough to hear it seemed and the three of them went over to talk with Lila.

Lila had mentioned before that she and Marinette had had arguments before, and Marinette had pushed Lila down the steps at school, so when she saw the injury on Lila’s arm, she wasn’t completely surprised.

Alya had looked back up to Lila and the look on the Italian girl’s face said it all. Marinette had done this and had been doing this. Alya was about to yell up a storm, but she looked back down at the wound. She heard Nathaniel start to speak but she wasn’t listening.

Something was off about what was on Lila’s arm. Like the light hit it wrong or the skin wasn’t the right color. It just looked… fake. But that wouldn’t make any sense. Lila wouldn’t slap on a fake injury and go crying to them about how Marinette hurt her, right?

Alya glanced at Adrien and was slightly surprised to see him looking at Lila’s injury and seeming just as confused as she felt. Did Adrien think it looked fake too? It was obviously something that she would have to ask him about later. It would have to be without Lila around though. If Lila thought that suddenly her best friend thought she was lying, especially after everything with Marinette, it likely wouldn’t go well.

Still, Alya had to know, and as a reporter, she was going to get the answers she wanted.


End file.
